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Text They had taken wing once more to pass Snow Saddle, and more importantly, the barrens beyond: now, as Scrivener Blooms and Luna flew slowly onwards over this rotten and decrepit land, they were officially traveling further north than they had gone in almost ten years. It was a strange feeling… made stranger still by the speed with which they had moved, the passage of a journey that before had taken days now gone by in only some twenty hours of almost-steady travel. Yet neither of them wanted to stop even now, as they flew silently through the dark, moody skies above the rotten and torpid earth. It wasn't just because of the hostility of the barrens beneath them, it was because of the mix of anxiety and excitement racing through their bodies, as they pushed ever onwards with both hope and fear swirling in an endless dance through their linked soul. They both breathed hard in the clogged atmosphere, the reek of steam and smoke and rot surrounding them as geysers vented up from shattered earth far below. The heat here was almost unbearable, as they passed over what had once been a blackened, rocky pass… and was now nothing more than a terrible, semisolid mass of shifting rock and slag. Rivers of magma flowed and rumbled here and there, and deep in the ripped gorges of stone and ravines of shale, terrible scarlet light glowed and pulsed, glaring upwards with terrible ill-omen. Luna grimaced in disgust as she flapped her wings, flying onwards as Scrivener followed closely in her wake, both covered in sweat from the scorching heat that burned up from below despite the wind and cold air whipping around them. Their armor didn't help matters, leather doing too good a job of insulting now, and metal heating with unnatural fervor, as if the heat was somehow sentient, as if the terrible, corrupt environment was trying its hardest to sap them of all the life and strength it could. The winged unicorn gave a curse under her breath as she scanned the ground below: the terrain was more than harsh, more than brutal, more than simply dangerous, it would be impassable on hoof. Even the strange and hungry monsters that they could see roaming here and there amidst the wasteland were less threatening than the death-trap the barrens had collapsed completely into… and would have been less of a barrier to the two than the blighted land as well. Passing over it now was difficult enough… but on the way back they would be leading all the Pales they could find, and the Pales of ponies could only stride across the ground and blink short distances to cross gaps and rivers. If they strayed too far from the congregation they planned to gather, the spirits and souls would either stand and wait silently, or wander away from the others, drawn inexorably back to the place they had been found… the place where they had either died, or that had held the most meaning to them in life. Then Luna cursed under her breath as there was an explosion below, magma and fire bursting into the air, hurtling jagged rocks and broken boulders almost to the great height they were at as wildfire spread in an insane spiderweb across the charred earth. It burned red and orange as ash and smog belched out of the vent, and Scrivy and Luna hovered apprehensively for a few moments, watching as wild shapes that looked as if they were made from obsidian and slag greedily crawled out of the molten rip in the earth. Elementals: one of the rare few creatures that were actually excelling and adapting in the twisted world. The energies of Helheim were empowering them, and the brutality of the terrain made the perfect nests and homes for the chaotic entities of raw power-given-life. They thrived off the carnage and the chaos, and the only thing that stopped them from blanketing the world was the fact they couldn't keep themselves stable and alive for long outside their homes of bitter cold or burning flame. The Elementals ignored them as they cavorted across the fiery landscape: to them, after all, the magma and flame and burning-hot rock were all paradisiacal, the vents of steam like fountains of foam, the reeking smog like aromatic mist. Luna and Scrivener both traded looks, then forced themselves to continue on, only glad that at least the borders of the wasteland were in sight, past a collapsed and crumbled mountain… and that the Elementals were too happy in their 'beautiful' little world to pay any heed to the skies above. There was no way they could pass through the barrens on the way back… they would have to plot a route around, no matter how much time it would add to their journey, and Luna cursed under her breath at this complication as they continued forwards. The Bifrost couldn't be summoned just anywhere, after all… not only would the rainbow bridge would remain open and vulnerable for a short period of time after they crossed it, allowing the possibility of other things to claw their way into Looking Glass World, the immense amount of magic and energy it required to leap from one reality to the next meant they required a certain amount of preparation, and an area that was already designed as a 'landing zone' for the dimensional-hopping arch. They flew onwards, heads heavy with growing anxieties, made worse by fatigue, and fatigue was made all the harsher a mistress by the weight of their armor and the heat that made their blood and bodies boil beneath warm metal and clutching leather. But ten minutes later, they passed over the border from terrible, fiery wastes to cold, desolate plains, and the two let themselves sink lower as they flew into a biting, chilling wind, wincing as they flew across the frozen, snow-splattered tundra and finally settled to their hooves in a place eerily familiar. It was all too close to where Pinkie Pie had died: the only difference was that in the past, there had been a looming, dark forest to their front in which eyes had warily lurked, distracting them from the true threat that had been biting at their heels the entire journey. And for a moment, all was forgotten but memory, as Luna and Scrivener Blooms both stood silently, gazing northwards as a voice screamed in memory: P-please, I made a mistake! "Thou did, Ignominious. Thou made the mistake of crossing us not once, not twice, but four times… and never did thou pay enough for what thou did. Ruining lives, killing and tormenting countless innocents, summoning a world-killer, and so many other sins lay at thy doorstep… and worst, most-disgusting of all, thou wert only a pawn of a far-superior mind, less than a cog in the penultimate machinations of a terrible force." Luna murmured, lowering her head and closing her eyes tightly… and Scrivener slid a little closer to her, gazing at her silently, neither feeling the cold or heat even as they shivered at the memories that flashed through their linked mind and soul. They sat quietly… and then Luna leaned against the earth pony, pushing her face against the side of his neck as she whispered: "And terribly, I still pity the fool, Scrivener Blooms. I still pity that broken and tarnished creature, whom I once thought I loved. Aye, I am glad he is dead, gladder still that he is gone and will never return, destroyed more by himself than outside forces… but all the same, I pity what he became and find that I myself am not without fault in what happened to him… in what he was transformed into." "But he made the choice, Luna. Never forget that… we all make choices and choose the path we walk down. And there were so many things he could have done apart from sacrificing and murdering innocent souls to find strength… starting with being brave, instead of staying a coward and only seeking worthless tyrannical might." Scrivener replied softly, gazing towards Luna and kissing her forehead silently. "Don't blame yourself for what he chose to do." "Still, Scrivy… I cannot shake the thought that I am in a way responsible, that some part of me…" Luna fell quiet, then she sighed and shook her head slowly, murmuring quietly: "I do not want to corrupt thee further than I have. I do not want to drag thee down into darkness deeper than we already are. No matter what, Scrivener Blooms, it is not other monsters that I fear at the end of the day… it is myself, and Nightmare Moon, and-" "Now come on, Luna. We've talked about this, a lot." Scrivener said gently, and Luna glanced up at him with a faint smile as their eyes met, thoughts, emotions, passions playing back and forth between them for a few long seconds before Scrivy leaned forwards and kissed her nose quietly. "Anyway, I'm sure we'll shortly be beating things up. That'll make you feel better." "Perhaps. 'Tis true, pummeling things does always make me feel better. Like I am once more on the correct path in life." Luna mumbled, and Scrivener gave her an entertained look before she sighed and stepped forwards, shivering a bit as she added quietly: "Let us not linger. My body is sore, but I wish to keep walking… the chill grows moment-by-moment and we are not all as freakishly-insulated as thou art." The earth pony laughed a bit as the winged unicorn strode forwards, and then he fell into pace beside her, looking northwards as they marched onwards. The movement helped keep their bodies warm as a bitter wind whistled around them and short flurries of snow passed, dotting their armored frames with speckles of white powder as their hooves plodded heavily over packed tundra. They followed a highway that no longer was, past drifts and dunes of snow and freakish formations of rock and ice and gnarled, misshapen trees that seemed to stare at them with listless, bark-shaped faces. And Scrivener grimaced a bit as he felt a flicker through his skull and a faint buzzing in his eyes, staring too long at one of these trees… and then gritting his teeth as instead of wood, he saw terrible compositions of bodies of skinned ponies, muscle and flesh and bone and sinew all twisted and melted together, frozen in silent shapes… He clenched his eyes shut and stopped, grabbing at his skull, and Luna glanced worriedly over her shoulder at him before the male murmured: "I'm fine. Just… visions. They're not usually so intense, so… so awful. It might have something to do with being so close to Helheim, though…" Luna nodded slowly, looking at him silently as Scrivy glanced up with a bit of a sigh, smiling faintly at her before he gazed back and forth… then shivered a bit. As long as he didn't stare at the trees, he didn't see what he hoped wasn't actually under bark and wood… but now that his mind and the corruption inside it was acting up, he could see other shapes, other things… Pales that stood here and there silently amidst the forest, watching them, and hooded Grimm that lurked and slithered amongst the specters. Scrivener shivered a bit, then he forced himself to look forwards, striding onwards as Luna fell automatically into pace at his side even as she gave him a concerned frown, before gritting her teeth when the male murmured: "Grimm. Here and there… amidst Pales." He shot a glance to the side, at one of the awful monsters: like an enormous raven, pony-sized and with not taloned feet, but instead thick legs and heavy hooves. Their wings were large and heavy and fat, and dark, black cowls covered their faces, mixing so subtly with their feathers bodies it seemed almost as if the hoods were as natural as the rest of their form. They were awful omens, feeding off despair, torment, death, and misery: they often appeared over those who were about to die, and clustered in places were events of great destruction were about to take place. But that was in the past: now they were simply gleeful occupants of a destroyed world that fed their gluttony for destruction and suffering. More than demons, more than the living dead, more than even the Elementals, these creatures benefitted from the destruction that had ripped across the world… but they were only parasites, not schemers, a side-effect of the disease: maggots in the rotten flesh of the dying planet. Luna glared back and forth, and then she muttered under her breath: "Wonderful. I cannot see them, though, Scrivener Blooms… but at least we know there are Pales here, even if they linger just beneath reality's subtle folds. Would thou prefer to take to the air to finish this journey, so we can evade their presence?" Scrivener hesitated, looking over his shoulder at his leathery wings, flapping them once as he flexed his body… and then he sighed a little and nodded glumly, mumbling: "Yeah, or… at least in a little while. Let's walk a little longer, though, see if my eyes and the corruption settle down…" Scrivener glanced down at the ground, then tossed a careful look back and forth as Luna stepped towards him, pushing their sides together as she said gently: "Be not so hard on thyself, Scrivener Blooms. This is not thy fault… and thou art handling thine curse and blessing with… much greater dignity and strength these days than in times' past." "Oh, you mean like when I was first learning to adjust to this and I kept screaming at everything?" Scrivener asked dourly, and Luna sighed and rolled her eyes, giving him a flat look even as a faint smile quirked at her muzzle. "Well, seeing the shapes beneath shapes when you're in a world being flooded by Hell… that's not exactly pleasant, Luna. As it is, the fact that now I can look on these things and the only reason they bother me is… is because…" He fell quiet, gazing ahead as a shiver rolled down his spine… and Luna softened, murmuring quietly: "Do not make me chastise thee with thine own words only minutes after thou gave thy pretty little speech to me about Ignominious, Scrivener Blooms. 'Twould be annoying. It makes me think thou just enjoys having thy hypocrisies repeated back to thee." Scrivener smiled despite himself, looking ahead as he said softly: "I know. We talk about it a lot and I get… bothered by it a lot when by now, I should have adjusted to it. But some days… it's still hard. I worry a lot, Luna. And I'm… going to be honest. I worry that one day I might… hurt you. Especially with this corruption doing what it does to my head… especially with the fact that… it's not just desensitization. It's… this…" The charcoal pony fell silent, looking ahead… and Luna softened visibly, leaning towards him and saying quietly: "Scrivener Blooms, do not be silly. Why, thou art not nearly tough enough to injure me, for thou would hurt thyself did thou pummel me." Scrivy sighed and dropped his head forwards at this, and then he smiled despite himself over at Luna, saying dryly: "You know. I'm beginning to understand why ponies always got mad at me when I deflected serious questions and statements with my incorrigible wit." "Oh, wonderful, thy humility is rising back up to its proud peak." Luna remarked, and Scrivener smiled despite himself at her as he leaned towards her, and they quietly butted their heads together before Luna added quietly: "Scrivy, I have full faith… thou will never injure me. I remember all too well thy selfishness in the battle against Ignominious, after all… making me perform such an awful act, trying to steal thyself away." She smiled faintly at him, and Scrivener laughed a little despite himself before he looked ahead even as a faint blush heated his cheeks, before Luna continued in a softer, gentler voice: "We are linked in body, mind, spirit and soul… I feel thy pleasures, thou feels mine own, we share everything. And look at me, Scrivy… a Valkyrie who enjoys the thrill of battle like few other things in life. 'Tis not that I can deny I have some… instinct in me that perhaps even enjoys hurting others, not just proving my superiority over them or using my abilities to protect and defend those important to me, or the elegant dance, finesse, and skill that any true battle requires… aye, we are both damned, Scrivener Blooms. But like all things, we are damned together… think not that thou art more damned than I am, 'lest I be the one pummeling thee instead of thou attempting to childishly flail at me with thy great big hooves." "Oh thank you, Luna, you're so good at saying just the right thing to make me feel better." Scrivener said flatly, and Luna threw her head back and laughed as they walked forwards, the sound unnatural, loud, echoing through this damned world… but so powerful and pure, it seemed to make the essence of Helheim trying to suffocate them recede, and Scrivener smiled despite himself. "But okay, warrior princess. So we're both sadomasochists, considering how much you beat on me despite knowing it's only going to hurt you, too. So we're codependent, violent, unstable, darkness-tainted, corrupted, cynical, pessimistic, meat-eating sadomasochists living in a post-apocalyptic, near-complete-collapse world filled with demons from Hell. Did I miss anything?" "Yes, Scrivener Blooms, thou forgot the fact thou art stupid, and worse yet, a poet." Luna retorted imperiously, tilting her head upwards, and Scrivy gave an exasperated sigh as he dropped his head forwards. "And a poet is a far worse creature than anything I could ever hope to be myself, as I have come to learn. Than even Nightmare Moon could ever hope to be, as a matter of fact." "Don't worry, Luna. As I recall, we decided a long time ago that you were probably worse than Nightmare Moon yourself." Scrivener replied dryly, and Luna gave him a flat glare for a moment as the equine rose his head with a slight smile. "Also, as I plainly recall, Nightmare Moon is nicer to me than you are." The winged unicorn huffed at this, glaring at him for a few moments before she grumbled and looked ahead, replying in a surly voice: "Thou strikes low, foul beetle. Besides, Nightmare Moon is only nicer to thee because… she… she is manipulative. And evil. And… dumb." Scrivener gave Luna a mild look, and Luna grumbled and shook her head quickly, her mane twisting backwards as inside her, Nightmare Moon laughed quietly before she mumbled: "And now thou hast gone and stirred up the creature, Scrivy. Perhaps I should go away then, and leave thee with Nightmare Moon for the next few hours." She stopped, then looked awkwardly at Scrivener as the male softened. "Thou… are not… I mean… oh shut up, Scrivy!" "I… I didn't say anything yet." Scrivener said awkwardly, and Luna grumbled before he stepped closer to her and kissed her cheek gently, saying softly: "I said she was nicer to me, Luna. I didn't say I was fonder of her than you." The winged unicorn smiled warmly at this, immediately brightening a little before she cleared her throat and firmly headbutted him, knocking Scrivener staggering with a grunt of dumb surprise. "Kiss not my flank, Scrivener Blooms, thy lying foul flattery shall get thee nowhere. I shall make thee apologize to me later, for I wish not to hear thy poetic nuances twisting thine apologies into cunning trickery… and the word 'sorry' holds much less meaning than other things I can make thee do." Luna grinned widely as she looked over at him, and the male sighed and gave her an exasperated look. Then their irises met, and they traded emotions, thoughts, feelings, and apologies… before Luna smiled softly, saying quietly: "We have walked enough then, haven't we? And 'tis the journey, I know, making us both tense and hinders us further. Let us take back to the air… perhaps the biting cold will at least serve to clear our heads." "For once, I hope you're right." Scrivener murmured, and the two halted for a moment as they studied each other, eyes meeting, more thoughts twisting their way back and forth before the two nodded slowly in synchronization and understanding. Then both turned, leaning forwards and running through the heavy snow before they both leapt into the air, wings flapping hard and propelling them sharply upwards into the wretched skies. They flew northwards, keeping their course straight and fast as they breathed hard in and out. And, almost as if they were being lulled onwards, the winds died down even as the bitter cold deepened with the growing darkness, as clouds above became blacker and heavier and the very air of the world around them seemed to thicken with living shadows. An hour and a half of hard flight later, the two slowly began to descend from the skies towards the ruined hulk of a town that had been half-buried beneath snow. It was surrounded by nothing but snowy plains that here and there were ruptured with deep, rotting gouges in the ground, and massive and alien ice formations that stood like silent, callous sentinels… it was a city of the dead, guarded by frozen souls colder than any reaper's grim touch as a quiet, soft fall of snow that flittered through the air like icy ash swirled slowly down from the dark clouds. Slowly, Scrivener Blooms and Luna strode over packed, frozen tundra towards the gates of North Neigh, shivers passing through them both not just from the blistering cold but the memories that being here awoke: memories of failures, and of victories that had been more costly than defeats. Of happy promises and moments of triumph that had been all lost, all destroyed, when everything had gone wrong. They gazed silently into the town, and then Scrivener smiled faintly as he murmured: "Apart from the snow that's covering half the buildings… it looks almost the same as it did before. Frozen in time… it feels like we're going to walk in there, and Bramblethorn is going to charge out of the Unicorn District and start right in on the whole 'slave hoof' thing all over again…" Luna glanced towards him softly, and then they both glanced sharply forwards at the sound of crackling behind the half-collapsed, rickety fencing that surrounded much of the town, and a shape plodded slowly into the empty roadway, then came to a halt as it seemed to sense their eyes on it. It was enormous, ten feet tall and made of blue ice that was speckled here and there with streaks and stains of ivory rock, its arms long and gangly, its legs ending in thick, webbed talons, its body rigid and geometric. It was an Ice Elemental… made all the clearer when it turned to face them with an expressionless, featureless lump of a head, frozen mist steaming up from its body. Luna and Scrivener stared at it, and the Elemental looked back at them, leaning forwards slightly, studying them with its featureless face… and then both ponies readied themselves as the creature lumbered out of the city towards them. Luna gritted her teeth as her horn glowed and her mane sparked, and Scrivy winced as he stared up at the creature… but it halted a few feet away from them, making a strange chirring sound in its throat as it studied the ponies silently. The two equines exchanged nervous looks as the creature regarded them… and then the beast straightened and turned its attention away from them, and both Luna and Scrivy slipped quickly to the side as the Elemental passed, apparently deciding they weren't interesting enough to hold its attention. And both Scrivener Blooms and Luna gave sighs of relief as the Elemental plodded onwards, looking over their shoulders as the female muttered: "Thank Odin's hideous visage. It must be because we are both so cold… our body heat is suppressed, so the blind beast does not know what to think of us. Or perhaps thinks we are too small quarry to concern it." Scrivener nodded slowly, and Luna shook her head with a grimace, tossing another nervous look at the Elemental as it wandered into the icy plains. "Let us hope our luck holds long enough to find a suitable place to rest… and hopefully, enough safety to permit us to prepare ourselves for what must be done." The earth pony nodded again with a grimace, feeling Luna's instincts and thoughts as they slowly strode forwards and stepped once more into the town… and both ponies couldn't help but shudder a bit as they strode down the snowy streets, pushing past dunes of powder and gazing silently at the half-collapsed, half-frozen wooden structures that creaked and rumbled beneath the weight of the frost that covered them. In silence, they walked through the town, heading northwards and letting their hooves carry them where they would, Luna's instincts guiding her as Pales flickered here and there, staring at them silently. And as they began to pass a dilapidated, wrecked shop with a shattered front window and a missing door, a Pale silently strode out onto the collapsed steps and looked miserably down at them. Scrivener Blooms and Luna halted, gazing up at the broken storefront of the Allsorts Emporium, and the Pale of an old, aged unicorn looked down at them with sorrow and regret in his hollow eyes. Wisehorse, misguided Blood Bishop of Ekleíp, the insane cult that had worshiped and tried to control Nightmare Moon to achieve a maddened vision of the world's rebirth. A cult of Blood Seers and unicorn mages, who had been more obsessed with themselves and power than anything else, even if Wisehorse himself had seemingly been honest in his wish to 'save the world…' who had been a victim himself. "But it does not excuse what thou did, Wisehorse. Strange to see thee here… why not the Black Baroque? Or perhaps Helheim…" Luna grinned bitterly, looking coldly up at the Pale as it half-turned away, eyes closing. "No, Helheim would be mercy, would it not? Aye, it would be, a mercy thou doesn't deserve. Wander this world forever, Wisehorse; wander this world, see what thou hast done, understand that thou wert manipulated the entire time. Understand that thou wert a victim, but also a sculptor and destroyer." "You were so smart, Wisehorse, William Isehorse… whatever your real name is." Scrivener added quietly, looking silently up at him. "How could you miss the signs? How could you not understand that what you were doing was… wasn't just wrong, wasn't just foolishness, it was… you were so gullible, so obviously being led astray…" Wisehorse looked at him silently, and Scrivener gazed back, the Pale flickering in his vision, becoming an old unicorn that stood in the shattered doorway with a sallow coat and features etched with pain and sorrow, as he whispered wordlessly: 'I'm sorry.' "Sorry isn't enough. Cannot ever be enough." Luna lowered her head silently, and Scrivener closed his eyes as he dropped his own after a moment, the winged unicorn whispering: "And yet for all my malice, and all the pain I wish to wish upon thee, know that I also hold myself accountable, for we should have been able to stop things anyway. Perhaps the reason I hate thee most is because thou outwitted and outmatched us so clearly. That thou had such good intentions… and mine own? Mine own were destructive and selfish from the very beginning." She laughed dryly, looking up and saying quietly: "So does thou know the answer to the riddle, Isehorse? If good intentions pave a road that leads to the apocalypse, and my selfish intent to save my friends and family and pummel viciously that which seeks to harm me has led only to failure… what is left to do?" She looked up, teeth grit, and the Pale only gazed back before the specter shook its head slowly… and Luna gave a soft sigh as she muttered: "Of course. What can we do? What is there to do but… push onwards, hoping bleakly for the best of outcomes, even when treachery and despair weigh us down in memory or reality. Wisehorse, now, heed my words: we are here to collect souls, and bring Pales across the Bifrost. But thou and thine brethren of Ekleíp… there shan't be a place in the new world for thee. It is not my place to condemn thee… it is not my place to say thou art beyond redemption. Yet all the same, I must: I cannot allow the risk of what would happen if thou, in full strength, were restored upon the world. And I…" She quieted… then clenched her eyes shut and whispered: "Thou hurt me. Thou betrayed me… myself and Scrivener Blooms. Thou ruined so much, so fast… thou awakened a monster that thou should have destroyed, that I think thou knew thou should have exterminated the moment Ekleíp came upon it sleeping in its cursed burrow! And thou killed Scarlet Sage… thou cannot imagine what it was like, to see her die. Thou cannot imagine what it felt like, to find her Pale and the Pales of all my beloved friends in the wreckage of Ponyville, so miserable, so lost… and to lead them across the Bifrost, full of hope and yet despairing all the same, knowing that nothing is certain, knowing that even if we drag all the Pales we can into Looking Glass World, there is no guarantee they can all be revived, that even if we bring them back for a fleeting moment, the very shock and trauma of what occurred may kill them, and leave them gone to us forever! To know that my daughter is an ephemeral phantom, lonely and scared in another alien world, another layer of reality, without her mother or father!" Luna snarled at Wisehorse, tears leaking from her eyes and freezing immediately over her cheeks as she shouted, her eyes glowing white, her voice echoing through the frozen town: "Wander forever, William Isehorse, in this world that thou hast created, for I can think of no greater punishment! And when the world shatters, may thee be forced to sit forever outside of Helheim's gates, never permitted in to allow the demons to offer their mercy of punishment, for I know that thou thyself will do a far better job of self-torture than the whips and chains and blades and bludgeons of the pit lords ever could!" The Pale flinched backwards, and then Scrivener silently reached a hoof up, resting it quietly on Luna's shoulder… and she shivered violently before turning and burying her face against the male's neck, pushing her body closer against his. Slowly, Scrivy opened his eyes as he looked silently up… but the Pale was gone now, either fled or vanished into the folds between reality, and Luna whispered: "Damn the whole world wide, Scrivener Blooms. Damn everything that has happened… damn us for failing." "Come on, Luna. Let's keep moving. Let's get away from this place…" Scrivy hesitated, glancing up apprehensively at the front of the shop and remembering how before it had been the Allsorts Emporium… it had been the gardening shop that had been run by his unloving parents. "I don't want to know what other ghosts might lurk inside. Bramblethorn is bad enough. But somehow I think… Tia Belle might be even worse." He shook his head a bit, and Luna sighed softly as she drew back a bit from the male, turning and silently falling into step beside him as she closed her eyes, letting the earth pony lead as they headed past decrepit, broken buildings down snowy streets, ice glinting here and there across both tundra and structure before Luna halted to rub obsessively at her eyes, and Scrivener smiled faintly as he turned around, kissing one of the trails of frozen tears away and making her mumble. "I… I am fine. 'Tis only… the world in my eye. It hurts." "I know." Scrivy said quietly, and she looked up at him for a moment before the two shared a tight, firm embrace, pressing against one another, cold armor grinding quietly together before they both stepped back. They took a moment to settle themselves, even as they both sensed and heard a rumble of movement not far away… and then Scrivener glanced up with a wince as another large Ice Elemental loomed out of an alley a block to the south and across the street, grasping the frozen edges of a wooden house. It looked at them with the same curiosity the other had seemed to inspect the two with, and Luna snorted quietly as she tossed a glance towards it, murmuring: "Perhaps they simply do not know what to make of us, Scrivy. It has likely been many years since these wild entities saw living creatures… perhaps if they knew what we were, we would already be up to our necks in swarms of hostile and hungry beings of the primordial." "Gosh, and we couldn't have that now, could we?" Scrivener asked dryly, and Luna smiled despite herself, looking at him with faint entertainment as she leaned towards him and once more pushed her face against the side of his neck. Then the male glanced towards the Elemental quietly, watching as it slowly receded back into the alley, and he added softly: "Maybe we just don't interest them. Maybe they know all too well this world is already conquered, already theirs, for the little time that's left. Maybe they even pity us." "If they pity us, Scrivener Blooms, I shall shatter them all like the blocks of ice they are. I shan't be pitied, not even by embodiments of nature's elements." Luna grumbled under her breath, mashing her face firmer against his neck for a moment, and Scrivy shook his head with an entertained smile before she drew back and nodded firmly once, saying quietly: "Let us continue. These wooden homes are… in far better shape than I had thought they would be, and if we are fortunate, City Hall will make a serviceable place to stop and gather our wits." The earth pony nodded after a moment, and he and Luna traded faint smiles as they continue forwards… but they halted after only a few minutes and a single turn around a blind corner street to find themselves faced with a grim trail of destruction that could only have been caused by one of the Black Wolves of Hell. It was like a gorge had been torn through the town, a cut that was so deep and painful to the planet that reality itself had been wounded. Scrivener and Luna silently gazed at the twenty foot wide and countless foot long trail, the snow falling almost as if to avoid touching the rotten trench of mud and mire and jagged rock. And up and down the trail, they could see only more of the same: a dark, terrible wound, that even the ruins of houses it tore through slumped away from, as if they had been blown backwards from the sheer force hitting them… as if even these decrepit remains feared contact with the burnt wound. "One of the Black Wolves left this… but 'twas not Fenrir. The trail is too small for that mighty pack-lord…" Luna grimaced and leaned forwards, kicking a spill of snow onto the dark path… and immediately, the white powder burst upwards into steam, the winged unicorn making a disgusted face. "This is truly foul, Scrivener Blooms. And worse yet, this seems fresh… but I do not understand. Did something disturb the rumbling rest of these terrible monsters? Have they been summoned by Fenrir for some accursed gathering? Or do they perhaps tire of this world, and instead return to Helheim like loyal dogs instead of savage destroyers?" Luna shook her head slowly, and then she hesitantly began to step forwards as Scrivener Blooms winced, grasping her shoulder awkwardly… but she shrugged him off with a huff and carefully leaned down, stretching a hoof hesitantly towards the black trail. "Oh, stop it, Scrivy, I just wish to check if it will be safe to-" Scrivener felt a sharp pain spark through his mind, and then he winced and seized Luna by the shoulders, yanking her backwards as she blinked in surprise… then stared in shock as skeletal and shadowy claws ripped out of the black mire, grabbing wildly at the air where her hoof had been a moment before as Scrivener breathed hard in and out, pain sparking through his mind as he heard Valthrudnir's laughter and saw a cluster of Grimm on the other side of the black trail… of what no longer looked like rotten terrain to him, but instead a river of dark, flowing corruption, skeletons, skinned monstrosities, and silently-screaming victims of every shape and size flowing through it as they swam helplessly for the surface of the river of the damned. "Helheim… they… that's a river of death leading straight to Helheim…" "Scrivener Blooms…" Luna glanced up at him, leaning back at him as her mane fizzled quietly, breathing slowly as Scrivy gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut… and then she laughed faintly, looking at what to her seemed like only fetid and ugly earth… but in Scrivy's memories, she saw now what she had almost touched, and almost been dragged down into. "Thou… saved my life, Scrivy. I hope thou knows this." "I saved you from having to pummel your way out of Helheim, that's all. And you might have enjoyed that." Scrivener replied dryly, his eyes still tightly closed, his leathery wings trembling where they were still on his back as he impulsively held tightly onto Luna's shoulders, his breath rasping slowly in and out of his jaws. Faint pain still sparked through his head, and even with his eyes clenched shut, visions still assailed him, he still saw not only the river of the dead flowing, flowing, roiling, boiling… he saw Valthrudnir, standing with five cards fanned out in one hand, the Jötnar grinning as he reached slowly up and plucked one of these free- "Scrivener Blooms." Luna said quietly, and Scrivy's eyes flickered open as he realized he was sitting back on his haunches, staring dumbly at her: now she rested over him, her hooves on his shoulders, her eyes gazing silently into his. "Scrivy, come back to me. Everything is alright. The creature cannot hurt thee… Valthrudnir's echo is only proving that it is as stupid in arrogance as the real Valthrudnir was. Aye, blocking me out of thine mind using the corruption is a clever trick… but now that I know what it means when I sense that static, 'tis like loudly announcing 'excuse me, but I now aim to ambush and ransack thy sealed vaults.'" "Just what I always wanted to be, Luna, a sealed vault." Scrivener muttered to himself, and Luna gave both a sigh of exasperation and a look of relief as the male looked at her through his glasses, then smiled faintly as he reached up and adjusted them quietly. "Thank you. I guess… being here, and the visions, and… I hope I don't have to live the rest of my life like this." "I don't know, Scrivy, there's something romantic about the notion that thou art now even more weak and helpless than thou wert before." Luna replied kindly, and Scrivener sighed and gave her an exasperated look before the winged unicorn winked and added softly: "Or perhaps 'tis only the warm fuzziness that can only come from thou saving me, and me saving thee… and both of us, furthermore, saving the other from our own wretched selves more than any outside interference." Scrivener looked down thoughtfully at this… and then he glanced back up and smiled faintly, studying her even as his vision flickered, seeing not just Luna, but Nightmare Moon… and then he closed his eyes and bowed his head forwards, murmuring softly: "But we've always been our own worst enemies, haven't we? And I'm not even talking about… Nightmare Moon or… that evil part of me. I'm self-destructive and self-centered and you're passionate and brash and… probably a little crazy." The winged unicorn smiled at this all the same, however, nodding slowly, and Scrivener Blooms stepped up to her side as she turned around. The two stood for a few silent moments on the bank of the black wound in reality, and Scrivener could see the Grimm on the other side hissing at them and flapping their wings as they scattered, as lost souls tried to swim to the surface of the river, staring out at them mournfully… and then both ponies tensed before leaping forwards, their wings flapping in tandem and carrying them across the dark ooze together in one mighty leap, even as claws and grasping hands stretched eagerly out of the mire and wound before receding with a near-silent gasp. Scrivy and Luna landed easily together, trading smiles before the earth pony looked forwards… and then he winced, a flash going off in his mind as a bolt of pain tore through his head, Luna looking at him with concern before she snarled, hearing it as clearly in her own mind as Scrivener did in his thoughts: Good. Keep struggling, ponies. I almost want you to succeed now… there's benefit in it for me if you do, after all. But either way, I want you to know that at the end of the day… you are going to lose this game we're playing. "Cowardly animal… slinking through the shadows in my husband's mind, and now thou dares to mock us from thine so-thought 'safe haven?'" Luna snarled, her eyes burning as she glared into Scrivener's head as if she could somehow find Valthrudnir hiding in his ivory mane. "Think not that Nightmare Moon and I will hesitate to comb every last inch of my beloved's mind and soul until we find thee, festering tapeworm!" Oh, Brynhild, I don't play children's games like hide-and-seek… the Jötnar replied mockingly, and Scrivener could almost see him, grinning and lounging back in a heavy ash throne, the terrible bog-monster-wyrm drooling corruption nearby as the dragon fanned himself with the five cards… and then suddenly reached a hand up, drawing one and stepping forwards, becoming crystal-clear in a black world in Scrivener's vision as the earth pony reared back and stared blindly not at the sky, but this horrible apparition and the card Valthrudnir spun around in his hand. The Hanged Man. A fitting card for you two and the start of our new game: prepare to have your whole world turned upside down. Valthrudnir threw his head back and laughed… and Scrivener gargled weakly in his throat before he slowly keeled backwards and landed on his back, spasming once as he shuddered and stared at the sky, Luna immediately leaping forwards and looking down at him with fear… but then the male shook his head with a curse, holding up a hoof and catching her by the shoulder as he muttered: "N-No, I'm… fine. I just… my head feels…" It was impossible to describe, the earth pony gritting his teeth as he clenched his eyes shut, letting Luna carefully help guide him up to his haunches and then onto his hooves… and a shudder ran through the pony as he dropped his head forwards, breathing hard in and out for a few moments before he nodded slowly and muttered: "Okay. Okay… I'm sorry, Luna. It was like my head was a balloon and there was so much pressure, such intensity, and… flowing water…" He shook his head slowly, grimacing a bit as he realized he was only confusing himself further… but Luna only nodded, looking over him with concern as she said quietly: "I feel the ebb and flow of it, Scrivy, even if I wert fortunate enough to not be struck by the same pains… by the Horses of Heaven above, we… we may need to consult the old lecher on this, much as it pains me to say. The corruption of the Tyrant Wyrm, it keeps hurting thee, and… I cannot bear to see thee like this. Not when we're so close…" "But that's why it's acting up, Luna. This… echo of Valthrudnir's will… it's because we're so close." Scrivener said tiredly, rubbing slowly at his face as he murmured: "It's tortured us for eight… no, nine years now. It's worked its way through my mind and found the chinks in my armor and the flaws it can exploit. But now we're almost done, and…" He shook his head slowly, then stood up and smiled a little, saying quietly: "I'm okay. Once we're able to rest, I know I'll do better… all this exertion, being so tired, it's probably making it easier for Valthrudnir to get inside my head one way or the other. Let's… let's just get to City Hall. I don't want to slow us down further than I already have, warrior princess." "Some days I hate thee, Scrivener Blooms." Luna retorted, and Scrivy gave her a wry, amused look over his shoulder. "And thou calls me bossy." "You are bossy, Luna." The equine gave her a faintly-entertained look, and the winged unicorn grumbled as they fell into step beside one another, but concern for him still radiated from her body, and the two walked almost close enough for their sides to press together as they continued through the town. They hoped to find hope amidst the ruin and the decay... but the ponies remembered all too well that this place had been the grave of so many ponies' dreams... and the cradle only of the despair that had fed Ragnarok's birth. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story